CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Master SAAD RAJAB

ALI of class XII-H of International Indian
School, Dammam has completed the
project file under my supervision. He has
taken proper care and shown utmost
sincerity in the completion of the project. I
certify that this project is up to my
expectations and as per guidelines issued by
the CBSE.

…………………… …………………..
Signature Signature
(EXAMINER) (INTERNAL EXAMINER)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of
gratitude to my Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Aajiza
Fatima for her vital support, motivation and
encouragement throughout the making of this
project without which completing the project
could not have been possible.

Name: SAAD RAJAB ALI XII-H

INTRODUCTION TO TELESCOPES
A telescope is an optical instrument designed to make
distant objects appear closer and more detailed. It also
has an objective and an eye piece. It works by collecting
and magnifying light or other forms of electromagnetic
radiation, allowing us to observe objects that are far
away, such as stars, planets, and galaxies. Telescopes can
use lenses, mirrors, or a combination of both to focus
light, enabling astronomers to study the universe in
greater detail. The telescope is used to provide angular
magnification of distant objects. It also has an objective
and an eyepiece.
The magnifying power m is the ratio of the angle β
subtended at the eye by the final image to the angle α
which the object subtends at the lens or the eye.
m ≈ β/ α ≈ h/fe x fo/h = fo/fe
in this case the length of telescope is fo+fe
Telescopes are essential tools for astronomers to explore
and study the universe. There are many types of
telescopes like, optical telescopes, radio telescopes, etc.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF TELESCOPES

Telescopes have transformed astronomy since their
invention in the early 17th century. The first telescopes
were refracting telescopes, invented by Hans Lippershey
in 1608. These used lenses to bend light, focusing it to
create images. Galileo improved this design and, in 1609,
used it to observe craters on the Moon and moons
orbiting Jupiter.
However, refracting telescopes had limitations, like
chromatic aberration, where colors are distorted. To
solve this, Isaac Newton invented the reflecting
telescope in 1668. Reflecting telescopes use mirrors
instead of lenses to gather and focus light, avoiding color
distortion and allowing for larger apertures. The Hubble
Space Telescope, launched in 1990, brought us stunning
images of distant galaxies. Today, telescopes like the
James Webb Space Telescope push the boundaries of
space exploration, capturing the universe's earliest
moments.

OPTICAL TELESCOPES AND ITS TYPES

An optical telescope is a device that collects and magnifies visible light
in order to observe distant objects. It works by gathering light through a
lens or mirror and focusing it to produce a clear image. Optical
telescopes are used for various purposes, including astronomical
observations, terrestrial observations, and even in some scientific
research. It is of two types Refracting telescope and Reflecting
telescope.

1.Reflecting telescopes or Refractor telescopes:

Telescopes with mirror objective are called reflecting telescopes. In a
reflecting telescope lens is usually at the front, followed by a long tube,
and then an eyepiece or instrumentation at the back, where the
telescope image is brought into focus. The diameter of the design is
referred to as the hole its ranges from a few centimeters for small
spotting telescopes up to one meter for the largest refractor in
existence. The design, as well as the eyepiece, may have specific
components. Small spotting telescopes may contain an extra lens in the
back of the eyepiece to erect the image so that it does not appear
upside-down. Schematic diagram of a reflecting telescope

Telescopes which make use of the refractive property of lenses are

called refractors. If a refractor has a large light-gathering power (a
necessity for astronomical observations), the lenses should be quite
large. The instrument at the Yerkes Observatory has an objective lens
with a diameter of 1 m.

Types of Reflecting telescopes:

i, Newtonian telescopes: Newtonian telescope also
called the Newtonian reflector telescope. These
telescopes are usually less expensive for any given
objective diameter than any quality telescopes of other
types. This telescope was invented by the English
scientist sir Isaac newton therefore the telescope is
also called as Isaac newton telescope. Since only one
surface must be ground and polished to achieve a
complex form, fabrication is much simpler than other
telescope design. Newtonian telescopes are generally
cheaper as compared to the other telescopes with a
similar configuration for any given aperture. The
production of these telescopes is simple. They involve
only one surface that requires ground. They get
polished into a complex shape.

Schematic diagram of a Newtonian telescope

ii, Cassegrain Reflector Telescope: The Cassegrain

reflector is a composition of a primary concave mirror
and a secondary convex mirror. In a symmetrical
Cassegrain telescope, both mirrors are aligned about
the optical axis, and the primary mirror generally
contains a hole in the centre, thus enabling the light to
 reach an eyepiece, a microphone, or an image sensor.
The Cassegrain configuration uses a parabolic reflector
as the primary and the hyperbolic reflector as a
secondary mirror. In a Cassegrain telescope, the
primary mirror and secondary mirror both are curved.
The light hits the concave primary mirror, which
reflects the convex secondary mirror. The convex
secondary mirror then reflects the light through a
small hole in the concave primary mirror to the
eyepiece. Hence the design allows the shorter tube
relative to its mirror diameter because the telescope's
focal length is longer than the length of the tube.
Schematic diagram of Cassegrain telescope

2. Refracting Telescopes: A refracting telescope is an

optical telescope that forms an image with a lens as its
objective. The refracting telescope gets its name from
the fact that it uses refracting elements, i.e., lenses. The
two lenses used in a refracting telescope are the
objective or primary lens, which is used to refract or
bend the light to a focus point, and some type of
eyepiece. These primary and eyepiece lenses are fixed at
the ends of two coaxial tubes and parallel rays from a
distant object enter the telescope. Refracting telescopes
were the earliest telescopes to be devised.
A refracting telescope's magnification is determined by
dividing the objective's focal length by the eyepiece's
focal length. If M is the magnification of the refracting
telescope, fo is the focal length of the objective, and fe is
the focal length of the eyepiece, then the magnification
is given as: M=fo/fe
schematic diagram of refractive telescope

Types of refracting telescopes:

i, Galilean telescope: This telescope was invented by
Galileo Galilei in 1609. In this type of telescope, the
objective and eyepiece lenses are convergent and
divergent, respectively.

Schematic diagram of Galilean Telescope

ii, Keplerian telescope: The Keplerian telescope was

invented by Johannes Kepler in 1611. This is an improved
version of the Galilean telescope.
Image of Keplerian telescope

iii, Achromatic telescope: This telescope is designed to fix

the major drawback of refracting telescopes, the
chromatic aberration. This type was first invented by an
English barrister named Chester Moore Hall in 1733. The
achromatic lens is used in this type. The achromatic lens
is used to bring two different wavelengths into the focus
points in the same plane. The two
wavelengths are red and blue.
Image of achromatic telescope

iv, Apochromatic telescope: The apochromatic lens is

used in this type. The achromatic lens is used to bring
three different wavelengths into the focus points in the
same plane. The three wavelengths are red, blue, and
green.
Image of a
Apochromatic Telescope
 PROS AND CONS OF REFRACTIVE AND
REFLECTIVE TELESCOPES

Advantages of refractive telescopes:

1. Higher revolving power per inch of aperture.
2. No interruption of the light path.
3. Near permanent optical alignment - minimum
maintenance needed.
Disadvantages of refractive telescopes:
1.Chromatic Aberration: The failure of a lens to
concentrate all colors to the same point is known as
chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration affects only
refractive telescopes. When light is refracted through
glass, then shorter wavelengths bend more than longer
wavelengths and blue light comes closer than red light.
For example, if we focus the eyepiece on the blue light,
then the red light is out of focus which produces a red
blur around the image and vice versa. The chromatic
aberration can be minimized by using achromatic lenses.
Chromatic aberration can be reduced (~10 times) by a
multiple lens system.
2.Very high initial cost as compared to the reflector.
The objective lens has to be supported at the edges, and
they sag under their own weight.
3.To achieve a large focal length, the telescope will be
long and requires massive support and domes.
4.In the glass, light is absorbed and scattered.
5.The lens of large size are difficult to make, and they
always have errors.
Advantages of reflective telescopes:
1. Better light collecting capacity with a large mirror.
2. Chromatic abbreviations are absent.
3. Relatively affordable.
Disadvantages of reflective telescopes:
1. Optical quality is frequently subpar.
2. Hefty and large.
3. Open tubes are more susceptible to contamination,
moisture, etc.
 REFRACTIVE TELESCOPES VS
REFLECTIVE TELESCOPES
REFRACTIVE REFLECTIVE
1. Uses convex lens to refract or 1. Uses concave mirror to redirect
bend light. light towards a focal point.
2.Objective lens that bends 2.Light enters the telescope and is
light that passes through it and reflected from a larger curved
focuses the light to be mirror to a flat mirror.
magnified by an eyepiece.
3. Size is limited due to 3. Prevents light from entering the
objective lens. glass.
4. Refracting telescopes are 4. Reflecting telescopes are
costlier. easier and cheaper to build.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.Byjus app
2.Vedantu app
3.Google images
4.NCERT Class 12 physics textbook part 2

INDEX
 Serial Contents Page
Number Number
ACKNOWLEDGEMEN 1
1 T
CERTIFICATE 2
2
INTRODUCTION TO 4
3 TELESCOPES
A BRIEF HISTORY OF 5
4 TELESCOPES
OPTICAL TELESCOPES 6
5 AND ITS TYPES
PROS AND CONS OF 13
6 REFRACTIVE AND
REFLECTIVE
TELESCOPES
REFRACTIVE 15
7 TELESCOPE VS
REFLECTIVE
TELESCOPE
BIBLIOGRAPHY 16
8